Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump is trying to lure Joe Biden into a Walter Mondale trap — attempting to force the Democratic nominee to embrace middle-class tax increases as part of his election strategy.
Why it matters: With his Saturday evening executive action to unilaterally rewrite the tax code, Trump again is demonstrating the lengths to which he’ll go to change the conversation — and try to make the election a choice between him and Biden, and not a referendum on him.
In Biden's response, he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he used the White House effort to suspend payroll taxes as a way to double down on his appeal to seniors and cast himself as the defender of Social Security.
- Biden called Trump's plan a "first shot in a new, reckless war on Social Security.”
The context: Trump's backers have tested the Mondale comparisons since May 2019, when Biden said in South Carolina, to applause: "First thing I’m gonna do is repeal this Trump tax cut."
- But Biden has been more disciplined and nuanced since. He’s also stayed in touch with Mondale over the years. And as vice president, Biden studied Mondale's papers to learn from history.
What we're watching: Biden isn't opposed to raising taxes on the wealthy — he told Wall Street donors as much in June. But he’s never said he'd raise middle-class taxes.
- Look for Trump to try and force Biden to take a more explicit position on the payroll tax suspension for those making less than $100,000.
Between the lines: Repealing tax cuts is much harder once voters get used to them.
- President Obama campaigned on scrapping the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the wealthy.
- But in 2012, he compromised and made them permanent for families making less than $450,000. That’s an expansive definition of the middle class.